Container



1967 E. SCHAPER ETAL 3,297,194

CONTAINER Filed Feb. 23, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l 56 F g 1 IL gVIiVTORS.

Ear c 0 er 58 18 Babb/'6 6. Ca/o'w fi 3y Car/0M1 Maca/usa TOR/VEY Jan. 10, 1967 E. SCHAPER ETAL 3,297,194

CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 23, 1965 Z6 Em Ill dill llllliii 12 INVENTORS. Ear/ L. Scha er Bobbie G. 60/ we// 6' rr0// J. Maca/usa is W1. ATTORNEY United States Patent CONTAINER Earl L. Schaper, Midland, Mich, and Bobbie G. Caldwell and Carroll J. Macalusa, both of Baton Rouge, La., assignors to The Dow Chemical Company, Midland,

Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 434,445 11 Claims. (Cl. 220-72) This invention relates generally to an improved container for products such as motor oil, anti-freeze and other liquids. More particularly, the invention involves an improved container, the main body portion thereof being formed of a resinous material and having structural features particularly adapted for a container made of such material, the top closure for the container preferably being a metal lid.

While there are many obvious advantages in making containers for motor oil, anti-freeze and other liquid products primarily from a resinous material, i.e., light weight, cost reduction, aesthetics, etc., there are certain disadvantages which prior plastic containers have heretofore been unable to overcome.

Because of the nature of plastic material commonly used in these containers, such as high density polyethylene, closing of a lid on a filled plastic container has often resulted in a buckling of the side wall of the container. Likewise, when a relatively hot liquid is placed in a container of the prior art, and the container is capped, subse quent cooling of the liquid creates a vacuum which often causes the side wall of such a container to buckle.

Buckling of the side wall in prior containers has also occurred when a plurality of such containers are stacked on one another, the lowermost containers being unable to adequately support the axial load. Other problems such as the container being out-of-round and excessive stress cracking, especially in a buckled area (due to stress concentrations), have been typical in prior containers, likewise, there has been a tendency of prior containers to rupturne when in contact with one another, i.e., a metal lid rim of one can punctures the plastic body of an adjacent container due to rubbing in shipment.

Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide an improved container structure which substantially eliminates the above discussed shortcomings of containers having a plastic body.

Briefly, this object is accomplished by the establishment in the containers plastic side wall of a plurality of specially spaced and designed inwardly and outwardly directed protuberances which act to provide the container with axial resiliency for loading and stacking, and which prevent injurious contact between adjacent containers when in juxtaposition with one another during handling and shipping. The protuberances of the container of the present invention also prevent a plastic container body from becoming outof-round, as well as provide a structure which substantially avoids stress cracking problems.

Yet additional objects and advantages of the present invention, and its numerous cognate benefits and features are even more apparent and manifest in and by the ensuing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which wheresoever possible, like characters of reference designate corresponding material and parts throughout the several views thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a container for motor oil, anti-freeze and other liquid products, constructed according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view thereof;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View taken of the upper right-hand corner of the container of FIG.

1, only before the lid is engaged with the body of the container;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken of the upper right-hand corner of FIG. 1, with the lid engaged with the body of the container;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of two containers of this invention in juxtaposition with one another; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken of the lower righthand corner of FIG. 1.

Container or can 10 comprises a relatively deep cupshaped body 12 having a side wall 14 defining substantially cylindrical planar surfaces 16, and a bottom wall 18. Container 10, in the particular embodiment shown, has dimensions generally found in a quart can for motor oil. The preferred embodiment of this container employs a body 12 formed entirely of a thermoplastic resinous material such as a polyolefin, like (a higher density) polyethylene, it being understood that any other resinous material having appropriate characteristics might Well be adapted to the forming of such a container. A closure or top lid 20 of container 10 can be like that used to cap metal cans or part of an arrangement such as that shown, for example, in Italian Patent 264,054. However, it is to be understood that the lid 20 can be of other designs or formed of other materials than that here shown and described. The turned edge of lid 20 forms a rim 22 engaged with the upper periphery of side wall 14 in a conventional manner. FIG. 4 shows the lid in its position before engagement, and FIG. 5, after it is engaged with body 12.

Side wall 14 of container 10 includes, adjacent its top periphery, an inwardly directed or concave protuberance or ring 24 about its circumference, which ring has a plurality of functions. One of these is that ring 24 reinforces the top periphery of the container before the lid is applied to prevent lid seat 26 from becoming out-ofround (due to stacking or loading of the container 10 prior to the capping operation). If lid seat 26 were not kept circular, a lid 20 could not effectively be placed on the container body with now existing capping equipment.

Ring 24 extends substantially inwardly from What would otherwise be the planar surfaces 16 of side wall 14, this permitting the lid of another container beside it to rest in a void should the cans become tilted when stacked in cases. This effect will be described in more detail hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 6.

Due to its concave radius the ring 24 acts as a spring, allowing the can to be compressed during the filling and capping operation, or during stacking of cans, the ring cooperating with ribs or grooves 28 in a fashion which will also be described in more detail later.

Bumpers 30 and 32 adjacent the upper and lower ends of the container, respectively, extend as convex-like or outwardly directed protuberances circumferentially about the side wall and beyond the normal planar surfaces 16 of the side wall. Bumper 30 is integral with ring 24 and together they form a reverse S-curve, in cross section. As can be seen in FIG. 6, when adjacent containers are tilted the bumpers 30 keep the rim 22 of one lid from engaging the plastic body of the adjacent container, the ring 24 also cooperating in keeping the rim 22 spaced from the body by its void-like configuration. Thus the bumpers, in cooperation with ring 24, substantially prevent the lid rim of one container from puncturing the body or tearing the lid off another adjacent container during shipment of the containers.

The vertical extent of the side wall 14 between upper and lower bumpers 30 and 32 is interrupted by a plurality of the aforementioned spaced ribs or grooves 28 extending circumferentially around the mid-section of the side wall 14, the ribs themselves preferably being concavely or otherwise inwardly directed as protuberances from the planar surfaces 16 of side wall 14. The particular width of each of the ribs 28 and each height of the planar panel 34 (defined by planar surfaces 16) be tween the ribs 28 is such as to insure the results desired, as hereinafter set forth. As a specific example, container can have a wall thickness of about 0.02 to 0.03 inch, an overall height of about 5.6 inches, 21 normal diameter of about 3.9 inches (defined by planar surface 16 of side wall 14), a maximum diameter of about 4.1 inches (defined by bumpers 30 and 32) with a minimum diameter of about 3.3 inches (defined by ring 24), the ribs 28 being on about a radius of about inch, and the planar panel distance (defined by panel 34) between ribs 28 being about 0.5 inch.

The concave nature of each rib 28 gives the container body ability to resist becoming out-of-round when handled. In combination with ring 24, an extremely advantageous strength and stiffness is thus achieved by the ribs 28. Due to this increased strength and stiffness, container 10 also will not collapse when filled with a hot liquid and later capped and allowed to cool, thereby generating a vacuum inside the container.

The rib 28-panel 34 arrangement further provides the container 10 with a resilient or spring-like character when a load is applied and then removed along the longitudinal axis of the container. In capping, this allows the container to be compressed such that the contents of the container is believed to aid substantially in supporting the axial load applied to the container body. When the load is removed, the spring action of the ribs 28, in cooperation with bumpers 30 and 32 and ring 24, return the can substantially to its original height. The character of the protuberance apparently prevents side wall buckling and stress cracking in the container when other filled containers are stacked on top of it. By employing an inclined face 36 about the lower periphery of the container 10, the character of the side wall construction apparently helps to allevate the stress on bottom rim 38 to prevent stress cracking at this critical point upon axial loading of such containers.

While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Accordingly, what is claimed as new is:

1. A container including a cup-shaped body having a side wall, bottom wall and top peripheral opening, said body being formed entirely of a resinous material, the side wall of said body generally defining a cylinder including a plurality of circumferential substantially planar surfaces, an outwardly directed bumper about the upper portion of said body, at least one circumferential groove located about the mid-section of said side wall, an outwardly directed bumper located about the lower portion of said body, said bumpers and at least one groove cooperating to give said container a spring-like resiliency upon axial loading and serving to maintain the container in round prior to capping.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein a plurality of grooves are spaced from one another between said bumpers.

3. The container of claim 2 wherein each said groove comprises a radius curve concavely directed from the side wall of said body.

4. The container of claim 3 wherein a concave ring is located immediately adjacent and above said first-mentioned bumper together forming a generally S-curved configuration in cross-section.

5. The container of claim 4 wherein the bottommost end of said side Wall has a face inclined inwardly from the lowermost bumper to a peripheral rim in said bottom wall.

6. The container of claim 1 wherein said material is a thermoplastic resin.

7. The container of claim 6 wherein said thermoplastic resin is a polyolefin.

8. The container of claim 7 wherein said polyolefiu is polyethylene.

9. The container of claim 8 wherein said polyethylene is of a relatively high density.

10. The container of claim 1 wherein a relatively rigid lid is engaged with the upper periphery of said side wall to close the top of said container after a product has been placed in said body.

11. The container of claim 10 wherein the material comprising said lid is a metal.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1961 Flicker et a1 220-72 8/ 1965 Linder et al. 220-72 

1. A CONTAINER INCLUDING A CUP-SHAPED BODY HAVING A SIDE WALL, BOTTOM WALL AND TOP PERIPHERAL OPENING, SAID BODY BEING FORMED ENTIRELY OF A RESINOUS MATERIAL, THE SIDE WALL OF SAID BODY GENERALLY DEFINING A CYLINDER INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIAL SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR SURFACES, AN OUTWARDLY DIRECTED BUMPER ABOUT THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID BODY, AT LEAST ONE CIRCUMFERENTIAL GROOVE LOCATED ABOUT THE MID-SECTION OF SAID SIDE WALL, AN OUTWARDLY DIRECTED BUMPER LOCATED ABOUT THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID BODY, SAID BUMPERS AND AT LEAST ONE GROOVE COOPERATING TO GIVE SAID CONTAINER A SPRING-LIKE RESILIENCY UPON AXIAL LOADING AND SERVING TO MAINTAIN THE CONTAINER IN ROUND PRIOR TO CAPPING. 